Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Queers United stands firmly in support of Barack Obama for president because of his principles of fairness and equality for all citizens. Barack Obama is rated 89% by the Human Rights Campaign (indicating a pro-gay rights voting record). In contrast John McCain is rated 33% by HRC (indicating a mixed gay rights voting record).

18 comments:

Anonymous
said...

It is the Clinton's who made don't ask don't tell, the Clinton's who made the Defense of Marriage Act, and Hillary did not march in the last gay pride parade in NY afraid to be seen as supporting the gay community in her bid to become president. I just don't trust Hillary.

If people would just take a minute and really stop buying into the limited media hype and really look beyond what the media wants us to see and think, then just maybe you could see the bigger picture. As a gay and out woman, I want change as quickly as possible, yet I know that unfortunately it can only be channeled through politics. And if you really look at the Clintons...both of them...they have always been for all human rights. They have worked hard for them even in the face of adversity. This isn't about the same old cliches and about charisma, it is about the people who do have the will and the history reflecting what I truly believe in. And as I note that even if Obama is nominated, I would still vote democratic, I also note that in years past he was not a supported of gay rights until thsi campaign. So, though I know what we all have in our minds will not be changed by just my blog comment, I do hope you will look into what matters to you in this election, and beyond the media as the basis of your vote alone.

Has Obama changed his position on supporting, as Sen. Clinton unfortunately does, a state's right to ban any kind of legal recognition of gay relationships, either occuring within that state or others, regardless of the existence or repeal of federal DOMA?

Does Obama no longer believe, that "states should be under no obligation to recognize same-sex marriages from other states...that a long-recognized public policy exception to the Constitution's Full Faith and Credit Clause exempts a state from having to recognize a same-sex marriage from another state which runs counter to its own public policies"?

Does he now disagree with his Constitutional law advisor Lawrence Tribe that, "Same-sex couples ... are neither better nor worse off with DOMA repealed"?

Barack Obama, speaking to rally attendees in Medford, Oregon on Saturday, took issue with how recent political campaigns have used wedge issues to divide the electorate, but have ultimately done little to make a real difference, especially when there are more important things to worry about.

Obama: "We argue about gay marriage. You know, in the meantime the planet is, you know, potentially being destroyed. We've got a war that is bankrupting us. And we're going to argue about gay marriage? I mean, that doesn't make any sense." PageQ has the video.

DOMA is difficult to understand if you can't listen and don't have the ability to understand the historical context and complexity.

Bill Clinton has been much wiser than we homo's given him credit. His "don't ask don't tell" pushed the topic to the forefront. It probably ultimately led to his political assassination, by the right wing republicans. But his approach of given the public what they can stand at the time was brilliant. He knows, shoving it down people throats might work for QueerNation, but in reality of politics and most of the USA voter, it takes easy, baby steps.

The gay community often tosses people like the Clinton's and other elected official, under the bus for not effectively achieving results. Never have I once heard, thank you for trying. We put pressure on them to take a politic unpopular stand, often at the risk of their careers, not ours.

The truth is, if we want gay marriage to happen, several things have to be done. We must support and seek openingly gay and lesbian qualified people to get elected at the state level. We have to work with the opposite side, to bring understand, public awareness to this issue. Public sentiment to support this issue is the key to this movement.

Our community needs to put as much effort into this issue as we do lastest fashions or the next circuit party. If that was the case, we would already be wedding and divorcing.

Finally it looks like there is a turnaround : A presidential candidate that condones and keeps supporting a loundmouth anti homo preacher for over 20 years is out of the question in my book.The clintons at first tried to get homos in the military totally accepted, but had to settle for 'don't ask don't tell' to get it through congress and senate.

The Clinton's ran on a campaign platform promise to allow gays in the military and turned their back on the gay community. They also created DOMA, which has hurt and made it so hard for gay couples to gain federal legal recognition. You can't hold Obama accountable for words by someone he knows, but you can hold the Clinton's accountable for their lies and homophobic legislation.

Hillary will win big in West Virginia because of the white blue collar, coal producing population. Are we going to have to hear for a week now that she has the momentum behind her? That will be annoying.

As a Obama supporter, I'm happy to see that it looks like he will win the Nomination. The Rev. Wright situation has been blown out of proportion, if you look at Obama's record, and what he has said, it is clear that he and Wright are different people.

Having said that, no matter who wins, Obama or Clinton, things will be better than it was under the Bush Administration

I agree Rob. As Obama said he is also friends with a particular senator who equates abortion with murder, and believes doctors who provide abortions should be jailed. Obama said just because he is friends with or linked to people with alternative views does not mean they represent his own. The same goes for Wright.